Stink Bug Numbers Increasing In Corn

Jun 16, 2017

By svtaylor

Coinciding with the wheat harvest, brown stink bugs have been moving into pre-tassel corn in the southeastern region of our Virginia. The entomology department has scouted fields over threshold in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. So far this season, stink bugs are present in low numbers in northern, central, and western regions of the state.

Thresholds for stink bugs in field corn are (From Dominic Reisig at NCSU):

one stink bug per four plants during ear formation, elongation, and pollen shed

one stink bug per two plants nearing the end of pollen shed to the blister stage.

Plant injury from stink bugs may include:

Holes in leaves and, in severe cases, twisted plants.

It is important to remember that this bug typically infests on edges of fields and in spotty locations. It is possible, though unlikely, that stink bugs will infest an entire field. Spray volume is critical if you decide to spray – use a high volume to ensure that sprays penetrate the canopy. Insecticides labeled for stink bugs in corn (e.g., Baythroid XL, Karate Z, Warrior II) must come into direct contact with insects to kill them.

Source: vt.edu

Video: New research chair appointed to accelerate crop variety development

Funded by Sask Wheat, the Wheat Pre-Breeding Chair position was established to enhance cereal research breeding and training activities in the USask Crop Development Centre (CDC) by accelerating variety development through applied genomics and pre-breeding strategies.

“As the research chair, Dr. Valentyna Klymiuk will design and deploy leading-edge strategies and technologies to assess genetic diversity for delivery into new crop varieties that will benefit Saskatchewan producers and the agricultural industry,” said Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughn (PhD), dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at USask. “We are grateful to Sask Wheat for investing in USask research as we work to develop the innovative products that strengthen global food security.”

With a primary focus on wheat, Klymiuk’s research will connect discovery research, gene bank exploration, genomics, and breeding to translate gene discovery into improved varieties for Saskatchewan’s growing conditions.